Sayville RHP Ryan Karman fired a no-hitter with 8 Ks over Harborfields in a 9-0 win pic.twitter.com/8LQUcYRZQY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 18, 2022
It was a tremendous season for the Sayville Golden Flashes who captured the League VI Championship and made a deep playoff run before losing to Mount Sinai in the Conference IV Championship.
Head Coach Joe Esposito had the following to say: “We had a fantastic season going 19-1 and taking the league title. In playoffs, we ran into a tough pitching staff against Mount Sinai and lost two close games. Ball needs to bounce your way in playoffs and it didn’t for us last year. Hoping to capitalize on last season with many returning players. Two guys at the top of our staff have some experience now with Karman really stepping up big for us last season, going undefeated with a no-hitter. Justin Delaney should be tough to hit as well. Hitting wise, I expect Ryan Leniec and Ryan Hillery to lead this team. Along with some newcomers that show a lot of promise such as Kyle Messina, we are hoping to be very competitive.”
The Golden Flashes got several outstanding performances last season from various individuals that will be back, but no doubt they will have the challenge of replacing two impact players that meant a lot to the program – Jack Quinlan and Mack Murtha.
Brian Heckelman (Chaminade) and Jack Quinlan (Sayville) with their CatcherMTRX Awards given to the top defensive catchers on LI pic.twitter.com/dL9bUX66GD
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 22, 2022
“We are going to miss Jack Quinlan the most. He was the League MVP and County Gold Glove winner behind the plate, and just a fantastic human that is now playing for Army at West Point. Also, losing Mack Murtha that batted .450 with 29 runs scored and 22 stolen bases at the top of the lineup.”
Quinlan is the third recent Sayville graduate to play for the military joining 2020 grad Brock Murtha at Navy and 2021 grad Nick Buffardi in the Army along with Quinlan.
In terms of the returning players, Sayville returns the league’s Silver Slugger in Ryan Leniec. The corner infielder batted .486 for the season with 3 HRs, 32 RBIs, six doubles and 35 hits. He is committed to SUNY Brockport.
Shortstop Ryan Hillery batted .342 for the season with 2 HRs, 22 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Hillery is committed to St. Thomas Aquinas.
Senior CF Mike Milo batted .310 with 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored for the season. They will count on him to set the tone and patrol the outfield.
‘23 RHP Ryan Karman (Sayville)
#79 RHP among NY ‘23s, featured high spin off-speeds at our @TeamSteelNTL Scout Day 6/1/22. CH averaged 2076RPM, SL averaged 2228RPM.
Pictured firing a no-hitter 4/18/22 with current Army catcher Jack Quinlan.
📸: @AxcessBaseball@RyanKarman14 pic.twitter.com/2Og1dvtky2— Chris Dryll (@ChrisDryllPBR) February 15, 2023
The pitching staff is in great shape. The previously mentioned Ryan Karman was nails all season as he went 7-0 with a 1.24 ERA over 45.1 IP. They will hope that the senior can come close to duplicating those incredible numbers.
Senior Justin Delaney went 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA over 19 innings and he will step into a larger role this season. Ethan Alcantara, also a senior, went 3-1 with 3 saves and 1.22 ERA over 23 innings. That trio forms a formidable pitching staff for Sayville.
In terms of newcomers, Esposito pointed to 10th grade football sensation Kyle Messina who will play the middle infield and junior Tyler Sebor who will be behind the dish.
They will open up on March 27 against Comsewogue in a non-league game.
